Pranav Nair
Wilfried Zaha claims he was put in a no-win situation at Manchester United
Speaking to On The Judy podcast, Wilfried Zaha has hinted at him not being given a fair chance to succeed at Manchester Untied by Louis van Gaal.
Signed from Crystal Palace in 2013, the then 20-year-old arrived at Old Trafford as one of the most promising English prospects in the game. Despite his young age, Zaha had by then made more than 100 appearances for the Eagles.
However, he found game time difficult to come by under David Moyes and departed on loan to Cardiff City.
He returned to United the following summer but feels he was not given a fair shot by Louis van Gaal and Ryan Giggs. Primarily a winger, Zaha was told by the Dutchman to either play up front or as a wing-back.
“He gave me two options; you’re either a wing-back or a striker. Those positions I’d never played before. It was like I’m being set up to fail.”
Zaha admits he was absolutely shattered and found it difficult to adapt to positions he had never played before. In the end, he made just four appearances for United and returned to Palace.
“I was just shattered with how everything didn’t work out for me.”
A lack of patience
While Zaha never became a world-beater, he has gone on to establish himself as a Premier League mainstay at Selhurst Park. He has since rebuilt his reputation and is once again a subject of interest from clubs such as Arsenal and Everton.
Ironically, he has shown himself to be adaptable at Palace and even plays up front for them when needed. Zaha believes he was not given time to adapt at United and was thrown in at the deep end against top teams.
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Zaha never really got going at United and in his defence, he was not given many opportunities either. The 28-year-old was clearly talented and could have done with a manager who would have eased him into life at Old Trafford.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and we can now only wonder what could have been.
